Fen: Heya guys! Fen and SD here to give you the latest chapter of Kamen Rider Kabuto: Days of Ruin!
SD: *crying*
Fen: What's wrong with YOU? o_O?
SD: This chapter is SAD, Fen! Somebody DIES! *sobs loudly, blowing nose with Fen's shirt*
Fen: Oi! No snot on my shirt! *pushes SD away* Aw man, now I gotta get this cleaned!
SD: *sniffling* Y–Yes, folks, this chapter is rather emotional as a character is going to kick the bucket. :'(
Fen: So read this chapter while I clean myself up. Ugh… this is gross.
Disclaimer: Same thing.
In spite of my reservations about it, ZECT joined up with the Wolves, civilians, and Native Worms disguised as civilians we were protecting. I didn't like it, but in the end, I was outvoted. Admittedly, having those ZECTroopers helped with clearing the nuclear shelter which Lin, Will, and I were doing.
We found two medical bays, one primarily that was an ER and OR (operating room), where Rika promptly took Koji to take care of his wounds, and a second that was more of a lab. That was where we expected Dr. Morris to take Isabella.
Right now we were checking out another level of the nuclear shelter and after going the corridor for some time, we came across a large vault door that was probably some kind of storage room. Sliding the door open, we found it to be a storage room for food. "Whoa," Will said with mouth hanging open, "This is unbelievable. I don't think I've ever seen this much food packed together."
"No kidding." Lin agreed. "With this much food, we could probably last for a few years if we ration it right."
"Aw yeah! I can finally cook something edible for once!" I cheered, jumping in the air.
Will looked to me and said, "You think there is enough food in here for everyone?"
"Heck yeah! With all of this, I can give ya food that I used to cook in my diner!"
Lin smiled at me. "That's good to hear. I'm interested in tasting what you can cook up with a full stock."
"Oh trust me, cooking that burger and fries is only a taste of what I can really do." I said in glee, rubbing my hands eagerly.
Just then, I heard Rika come in over radio. ["Kurogasa! Come to the third floor med bay! Koji's finally coming to!"]
"What?!" I gasped. "Alright, I'm on my way!"
I gave a quick look to Lin and she gave me a thumbs–up. "Go. We've got things under control."
"Thanks." I nodded before darting off to the med bay.
(Cue Theme D–Technolife by UVERworld)
(Ienai itami kanashimi de kizutsuita kimi yo) The scenery is a barren wasteland, with a sky that blotted out the sun. The camera pans slowly to the right as Kurogasa, with his back facing the camera, looks at the barren wasteland on top of a cliff.
(Kesenai kako mo seoiatteikou ikiru koto o nagedasanai de) The camera then suddenly changes to a close up of Kurogasa's face before it went around his head, the camera's view being blocked momentarily when it reached the back of his head and when the camera finally circles to the side of his face, it showed Kurogasa as Kamen Rider Kabuto, before panning out showing him in his full armor. Looking up at the sky, a ray of light suddenly burst through the clouds shining on Kabuto before the screen goes white.
([WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH] tsunaida kimi no te o) The title Kamen Rider Kabuto: Days of Ruin appears on the screen and just before the song enters the next phrase, the ZECTers flew, crawled, and hopped around the title from behind and jumped towards the screen before changing to the next scene.
(Itsuka ushinatte shimau no kana) Koji sits on the edge of his bed, sadly looking at his guitar on one side, his rifle on the other, as Gatack flew up and lands on his shoulder.
(Usurete yuku egao to kimi wo mamoritai kara) Rika was in the medical wing of the base, sighing and wiping sweat off her brow as she tries to organize her medical supplies, Sasword crawling around on a table while Brenner, Lin, Isabella, and Will were discussing plans for their next move.
(Hibiku~ boku wo yobu koe sae kare) Kurogasa was cooking and Kabuto watched on his shoulder before Kurogasa noticed something from afar on the horizon.
(Toki ni sou kaze ni kakikesaretatte) Drake and TheBee fly past him as we see what Kurogasa was looking out: a swarm of Salis Worms flanking Dr. Caulder with Admiral Greyfield, Waylon, showing up one end of the battlefield along with Tasha and Gage on another end and they sending out their troops alerting the 12th Platoon.
(Kimi wo mitsu–ke–da–su) Kurogasa grabs Kabuto and transforms into Kamen Rider Kabuto, before casting off his armor and charging towards Dr. Caulder.
(Ienai itami kanashimi de kizutsuita kimi mou) Dr. Caulder snaps his fingers and Kamen Rider Punch and Kick Hopper appeared out of nowhere and jumped towards Kabuto for an attack only for the latter to dodge before going to attack them.
(Waraenai nante, hito kirai nante kotoba sou iwanaide) Koji transforms into Kamen Rider Gatack and leads the Tech Platoon with their heavy weapons attacking some of the Salis Worms as Brenner transforms into Kamen Rider TheBee and he, Lin, and Will attack the rest of the forces.
(Mienai mirai ni okoru koto subete ni imi ga aru kara) Rika and David "Deadeye" Stevens transforms into Kamen Rider Sasword and Kamen Rider Drake respectively and attack some of the Salis Worms.
(Ima wa sono mama de ii, kitto kizukeru toki ga kuru darou [WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH]) As Kurogasa battles Punch Hopper and Kick Hopper, Caulder surprisingly joins in and transforms into Kamen Rider Caucasus, going to punch Kurogasa, only for the latter to dodge and he and Caulder stared each other down.
(You and Me, two have spoken.) The Hyper ZECTer appears from the distortion of time and Kurogasa grabs it to become Hyper Kabuto.
([WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH] Itsuka wakariaeru kara) Kurogasa then grabs the Perfect ZECTer and he and Caucasus leap at each other, their attack causing a huge flash of light. When the light fades, we see Kurogasa, Koji, Rika, Brenner, Will, Lin, Isabella, Tasha, Gage, and Stauffenburg looking out into the sunset, the ZECTers with them as well before the song ends.
Chapter 10: Almost Home
The Beast growled angrily as he slammed his hands on the table, glaring daggers into the scientist! "You were of no help! Shinamori got away! And he took that ZECTer with him!"
"Don't fret," the scientist calmly replied. "I have all the information I need from the ZECTer."
"And what about me!?" The Beast roared. "You promised to help me kill him and those Rubinelle roaches! And your medicine is making me feel worse now!"
"Which is why I've developed another medicine. To help cure your illness." The scientist said, presenting him a syringe with green liquid in it.
The Beast clenched his fists repeatedly. "Why should I trust you, roach? What's so special about this one?"
The scientist smiled. "It will make you stronger than any human alive. I guarantee that."
"Stronger than Shinamori?"
"Yes, even stronger than those Kamen Riders. Including Shinamori."
The Beast eyed the medicine suspiciously for a few moments before practically ripping the syringe away. "TIME TO SQUASH THAT ROACH!" He then stabbed the syringe into his arm, not feeling pain while pressing all the green liquid into his bloodstream before pulling it out and throwing the syringe away. "AH HA HA HA! Let's see those little roaches stand… against me… n–now… uh…" The Beast put his hand up to his head, suddenly feeling lightheaded. "Wha–What…? What is… happening…?"
"The medicine is in effect." The scientist chuckled darkly. "It's making you stronger... better... and turning you into something more..."
After a bit of running, I finally made it to the third floor medical bay. "Rika! How is he!?"
"Relax, he's waking up." Rika chided.
"Yeah, and shout louder why don't ya, you whippersnapper!" Sasword said annoyed.
"It's alright, Sasword," Koji said groggily as he started to sit up. "He's just glad to know I'm good."
"How are you feeling man?" I asked, approaching him.
"Like I got ran over by a tank 500 times…" Koji groaned, holding his head.
Rika sighed sadly as she put down his chart. "His visible injuries aren't too bad. I've managed to stitch up most of his cuts, given him some stuff to help keep the swelling of his bruises down, and managed to keep his cracked rib in place. But he's gonna need some medication to help with the after effects of all those drugs."
"Well, maybe if you kiss my boo-boos, it'll make me feel better," Koji said with a playful wink, one I hadn't really seen him give before he joined the army, usually to a girl he was trying to hook up with, hence why Rika was blushing like wildfire.
"B–Baka!" Rika exclaimed. "Don't just go winking at me like that! You need to take your recovery seriously!"
Koji gave a soft, but pained chuckle. "I am taking my recovery seriously, hence why I'm looking for anyway to speed up my recovery."
"Heh, looks like the Beast didn't manage to beat out that idiot streak of yours," I said, pretending to be frustrated even though my smile was breaking through.
"He certainly tried," Koji said with a laugh before groaning in pain. Settling back on the bed, he then got serious as he said, "Those drugs… really did a number on me, brother… I've… I've never experienced pain and fear like that."
"Do you even know where he got them in the first place?" I asked.
Koji closed his eyes as he tried to think. "My memory's a little foggy… but I remember that weird scientist… he had this big silver briefcase with him."
My eyes widened at this. He must be talking about that same scientist I met when his disrupted the Clock Up System.
"Hey, you okay Kuro?" Rika asked.
"H–Huh?" I asked snapping out of my thought. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing."
Koji then looked to Rika and said, "So, how long before I can back into the field, Rika? I'm looking forward to squashing more Worms with Gatack."
"Well, given with your physical injuries, the drugs being out of your system, and your cracked rib…" Rika said looking over the chart. "I'd say about several days before you could go back to active duty."
Koji sighed. "I don't suppose those are just suggestions, eh?"
"No." Rika huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "I mean it. No getting out of bed for you."
"D'oh!" Koji grunted before laying back on the bed. "Guess I'm stuck here."
"Hey at least you'll be dining fine." I smirked. "I found a huge storage room of food and I can cook up what you always get at the diner."
Koji quirked an eyebrow. "Re~eeeeeally?" He then began steeping his fingers like an evil genius. "You mean you have the means to cook up your French dip sandwich?"
"Yes."
"Well, that makes everything better, then," Koji grinned. However, he furrowed his brows in thought. "How is Isabella? I know I wasn't the only medical concern for the battalion."
"Dr. Morris took her to the other med lab," Rika explained as she brought over pain pills for Koji. "He's checking the stuff there to see what he can use to help her."
"I see." Koji nodded. "I hope she's okay."
"Me too," I said, brushing some of my hair back.
Just then Brenner came in over the radio. ["This is Capt. Brenner. All Riders and essential personnel are report to the first level for a meeting. I repeat all Riders and essential personnel."]
"That's us," I said, looking to Rika and Koji.
Koji looked up to Rika and asked, "Am I okay enough to attend this meeting?"
"Yes, you can attend the meeting." Rika said.
We were all gathered in a room we determined to be the main control room for the shelter. Mr. Kagami from ZECT and the mayor of Freehaven were sitting with those of us who made up the de–facto command staff for the battalion. "Thank you, all, for coming. Lt. Lin, your report on the condition and supply count for the shelter?'
"Well to begin, there are ten levels to this shelter." Lin began.
"What's the status on medical facilities?" Brenner then asked.
Rika turned to the captain and said, "We've got a standard operating room in B Block, Sector 4."
Will then added, "The medical research lab is in D Block, Sector 1, sir,"
"And there's a food storage room and a mess hall in C Block, Section 3." I finished.
Lin nodded. "In short, Captain, this place has everything we need to keep us in business for the foreseeable future. The operating room has the latest in medical equipment. The medical lab is filled to the brim with antiviral vaccines and antibacterial medications. And the food storage room contains a huge variety of food with the mess hall being perfectly designed to cook it all." She then gave a sarcastic snort as she added, "The government spared no expense in its preparations to safeguard the political elite."
"I hear you Lin." Brenner nodded.
"Now we just gotta get Isabella and the civilians here and we're home free!" I said.
Koji gave me a thumbs–up as he said, "Well said, aibou. We can finally plant some roots."
However, just then, a young Rubinelle sergeant came rushing in. "Captain! Our rear guard is under attack! It's the Beast's men!"
"What?!" We asked shocked.
"How did they sneak up on us?!" Brenner demanded.
The sergeant replied quickly, "We're not sure, sir! It looks like they came in from the southeast, using the cover of the mountains to avoid detection!"
"Well… we're almost home free…" Deadeye groaned in annoyance before heading to the door. "No use being around here, let's go!"
"Right– ARGH!" Koji groaned as he tried to get up before slumping back in his chair.
"Hey, what did I say? No fighting today!" Rika huffed, "You focus on resting!"
"Hai…" Koji muttered.
Sergeant Rusk gently placed his hand on platoon sergeant's shoulder and said proudly, "Don't worry, Staff Sergeant, I'll make sure Tech Platoon gets through this fight in one piece."
"Okay. I'm counting on you." Koji nodded.
"Yes, sir," Rusk said with a two–finger salute.
"Alright, Wolves, let's move out!" Brenner shouted.
Mr. Kagami then stood up and said, "And my men will assist as well."
"Any help would be appreciated." Brenner said. "Alright, let's go, on the double!"
"Yes sir!" The Riders and I said.
"Wha–what is this…?" The Beast asked the scientist as he examined his two hands, one still human and the other… non–human. As he watched his men attack the Rubinelle forces, he turned to the scientist, anger mixing with pain and disease as he shouted, "What did you do to me!?"
"If I recall, it was you that did this to yourself." The scientist said. "You are changing something stronger than your human self. You wanted this didn't you?"
"I–I don't… I don't understand…"
"Of course you don't, you simple–minded brute," the scientist said with cold maliciousness. "All you see is violence and chaos. You fail to see the big picture. I, on the other hand, see this world as a chance for opportunity, to reshape the world in ways beyond human recognition. But to do so, tests must be performed. And it would seem the one I have performed on you is a success… You're becoming a Worm."
The Beast's head shot up as he looked to the scientist. "Y–You're lying!"
"Hardly," the scientist chuckled unsympathetically. "In a twist of irony, you're becoming a bug, the man who calls his enemies 'roaches.'"
"YOU BASTARD!" The Beast before charging at the scientist. The scientist didn't move or flinch. Before the Beast could get to him, the mercenary dropped to his knees, hugging his stomach as he was hit by a pang of nausea. His body glowed green in different spots, causing his legs to become more insectoid. The Beast nearly vomited when he saw what had happened to his legs. "M–Mama…" He said quietly, trembling.
"Oh~ what is this? Do I see… fear in you?" The scientist said interested. "Fascinating, simply fascinating."
The Beast's usual façade of fearlessness and rage had been replaced by sheer terror. "P–Please…" He paused, dry–heaving as he saw his other hand change as well. "…P–Please make it… s–stop–uh…"
"I'm afraid I can't do that. There is no cure to reverse the effect."
The Beast's eyes widened in horror. "N–NO! NO! NO–NO–NO! Change me back! CHANGE! ME! BACK– AGGGGHHHH!"
When we finally exited the shelter, we could already see the fighting between our forces and the Beast's men off in the distance. As Brenner signaled Lin and Rusk to go on ahead with the rest of the battalion and the ZECTrooper "reinforcements," he looked to Deadeye, Rika, and I and said, "Okay, gang, let's suit up and take out some baddies."
"Right!" We nodded.
"Let's do this!" The ZECTers added.
STANDBY!
I quickly attached the Rider Belt around my waist as the captain put on his Rider Brace, Deadeye pulled out the Drake Grip, and Rika readied the Sasword Yaiver. "HENSHIN!"
HENSHIN!
The energy hexagons coated us and soon we were donned in our Masked Form armors. Once the transformation was complete, the four of us hopped into the back of an open-ended pick-up truck as it drove us towards the sight of the battlefield. "Looks like it's, all mercenaries," Deadeye stated as he looked through his binoculars. "No Worms in sight."
"Yeah, but they could be disguised as Worms. Keep your eyes peeled." Brenner cautioned.
Rika looked to him confused as she said, "But, Sir, if there are Worms, wouldn't the ZECTers have detected them already?"
"She does have a point." I agreed. "They would've told us by now."
Brenner sighed and nodded. "Fair enough, but some may show up later looking for hosts, so be ready."
"Yes sir." We nodded.
A few moments later, the truck pulled up to the battle site, well behind our front line for safety. At the captain's command, the four of us hopped out of the back of the truck and ran towards our front line, Deadeye and I firing towards the Beast's mercenaries as Brenner and Rika ran behind us.
A few tanks tried to fire at us, but we managed to dodge and avoid the blasts and copters and jets fired on them with their missiles, destroying them in the process. "Some of these blasts are getting WAY too close for comfort," I stated to Kabuto.
"Then maybe we should shed some extra weight, aibou!" Kabuto suggested happily.
"Took the words out of my mouth!" I grinned behind my helmet before grabbing Kabuto's horn and the armor spread out a bit while steam hissed and electricity crackled throughout my armor. "Cast off!" I shouted before flipping Kabuto's horn completely.
CAST OFF!
The bits of my Masked Form armor shot off, striking several of the Beast's men dead as I entered my Rider Form.
CHANGE: BEETLE!
Now in my faster form, I rushed forward towards on the mercenaries' artillery guns at normal speed with my KunaiAx Gun set to Ax Mode. "Take this!" I shouted as I leapt into the air and cleaved through the massive barrel of the cannon.
I jumped back and–
*BOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
The artillery cannon was destroyed. "Heh, that oughta take some heat off our troops," I said, slightly smug before turning towards my next target.
Rika then rushed through a hail of enemy fire towards a large hill to the northeast side of the battlefield. "I've got snipers up on that ridge. Moving to intercept!"
CLOCK UP!
Going into Clock Up mode, she sped towards the snipers and slashed the rifles themselves destroying them before she hit the mercenaries upside the head before they fell unconscious. "Ooo, they'll be feeling that tomorrow," Sasword joked.
"More like they aren't waking up for a while." Rika said.
Deadeye, meanwhile, had taken up position behind one of the Beast's overturned Humvees and was busy sniping out many of the enemy mercenaries. "C'mon, they could at least make it kinda challenging for me!"
"Well apparently, they want to be target practice." Drake said.
Deadeye twirled his blaster once before saying, "Then let's play a game of speed shoot."
RIDER SHOOTING!
"Say hello to my little friend!" Deadeye shouted before going trigger happy. He rapid-fired his Rider Shooting, sending out multiple, smaller versions of the one large blast he usually shot off for his finisher attack. The blasts connected with multiple mercs, sending them flying or straight to the ground. "No trouble at all."
RIDER STING!
"Have a taste of my stinger you meanies!" TheBee shouted from Brenner's wrist.
Brenner's fist collided with the ground in front of several of the Beast's men, causing a large explosion that sent several of them flying backwards. "Now that's what I call sending them flying," Brenner said, impressed with himself.
However, as he continued shooting at the Beast's men, Deadeye then said, "But something isn't right. Guys, this is too easy. And… where's the Beast? He'd never miss out on a fight."
"That is weird." I said. "What do you think Captain?"
Brenner eyed the battlefield, his eyes darting back and forth under his helmet. "You're right, something isn't right about this. Without the Beast, they're completely disorganized. Something is–"
*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*
"W–Worm detected!" Kabuto shouted.
"And it's coming in hot!" Sasword warned.
Rika looked down at Sasword and said, "Where is it coming from Sasword!? How soon until it approaches?"
"It's coming now!"
And that was when it got there. Rushing over a ridge at Clocked Up speeds was the newest Worm. It was a red–orange Worm and it looks… well, dangerous. It had black markings all over its body and bright blue crystal–like eyes. Its mouth had sharp pincers and sharp quills on every part of itself. Lastly, attached to each of its forearms was, what appeared to be an insect's thorax shaped into the barrel of a cannon. It was the Fire Ant Worm. And yet… strangely, I found the Worm familiar.
"H–Hey, does this Worm somehow look familiar?" I stuttered.
The four of us looked to the Worm as he approached us. "I…" Rika started, "…I don't know how exactly, but… it does give off a feeling of familiarity."
"TIME FOR ME TO CRUSH SOME ROACHES!"
W–Wait a minute! Th–That's–!
"THE BEAST!?" All four of us shouted in unison as the Fire Ant Worm/Beast began firing randomly on the Rubinelle forces, blasting explosive fireballs from the thorax cannons on his arms.
"What the heck did he do to himself?!" Deadeye demanded.
"He got… turned into a Worm?" Brenner asked, still trying to figure out what was going on.
Sgt. Rusk then said over radio, ["Captain, Tech Platoon has eyes on the Worm. We're setting up mortar positions to target the enemy."]
"Negative Sergeant! Have Tech Platoon retreat! The Riders and I will take care of this Worm!" Brenner ordered.
Rusk's sigh could be heard over radio as he said, ["Y–Yes, Sir, we're preparing to move back and–!"] He paused then as he said, ["Captain, we have a problem! Some of the Beast's men have us cut off! They control the northern pass! We're gonna have to try a fighting retreat!"]
"Grrrr… alright, but don't do anything stupid!" Brenner gritted.
["Understood, Captain! We're starting to pull out now!"] Rusk replied as weapons fire was heard in the background.
"We've gotta get over there and help Tech Platoon!" I shouted.
Deadeye nodded in agreement as he said, "I'll move Sniper Platoon into a better position to cover Charlie Company to keep them covered."
"Go do that! Rika, go with him! You and I will handle the Beast Kurogasa!" Brenner said.
"You got it, Captain!" I replied with a nod.
Rika and Deadeye then rushed off to join up with Sniper Platoon to help protect Charlie Company while Brenner and I went to go help Tech Platoon with the Beast.
"WHERE'S SHINAMORI?! I WANNA CRUSH THAT ROACH!" The Beast yelled.
Sergeant Rusk looked towards the Beast/Fire Ant Worm, raising his rifle with its grenade launcher and shouted, "I wouldn't worry about him! We're more than enough to crush you, 'Roach!'"
"RUSK! NO!" I yelled.
"Get out of here!" Brenner shouted.
However, Rusk and his men started to attack, launching grenades from their rifles at the Beast. They didn't really have any choice. There was fighting behind Tech Platoon, keeping them from going that way and with the Beast in front, they couldn't run that way, either.
"YOU WANNA DIE FIRST ROACH?! THEN BE MY GUEST!"
As the Beast aimed his arm–thorax–blasters at Tech Platoon, charging up two huge fireballs, Rusk charged at the mercenary–turned–Worm, yelling at the top of his lungs. He had a bayonet attached to his rifle and slammed it into Beast's chest, causing the Worm to scream in pain, its arms instinctively aiming upwards, firing the blasts skyward.
Roaring in pain, the Beast knocked Rusk away with a powerful swing of his arm.
*CRACK!*
We could hear Rusk's ribs crack from where we were. Pulling the rifle out of his body, he shouted, "I am gonna kill you first, roach!"
"Kurogasa, we need to move, now!"
CLOCK UP!
"On it!"
CLOCK UP!
1!
2!
3!
"RIDER KICK!" I shouted.
RIDER KICK!
Brenner then turned TheBee around to deploy his stinger. "RIDER STING!"
RIDER STING!
I leapt into the air to deliver a flying kick version of my finisher while Brenner leapt into the air to perform a flying punch. However–
"STAY OUT OF THIS ROACHES!" The Fire Ant Worm/Beast shouted, turning our way quickly and releasing a storm of sharpened quills from his body along with fire blasts from his thorax cannons. Brenner and I yelled in pain as the sharpened quills hit our armors and sparks flew off before we tumbled to the ground, with smoke trailing off.
CLOCK OVER!
The Beast then turned to Rusk, laying on the ground heaving and panting in pain, and picked him up by the neck. "Now then… I guess if I can't kill Shinamori today, I'll settle for his number two!" He then put one of his thorax cannons to Rusk's stomach, causing the sergeant to shiver in terror. "Now, DIE!"
*BOOM! RAGH!*
Rusk couldn't even make a noise. The blast cauterized what was left of his insides, leaving a massive, burnt hole in his torso.
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSK!" Brenner and I yelled. The sergeant fell limply to the ground. He was already dead.
The Beast then turned to the rest of Tech Platoon and said, "Now, I'll destroy the rest of Shinamori's men, too!"
Back at the base, Koji was in the command tent, listening in on the battle. And then–
["RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSK!"]
His eyes widened in shock, "N–No… Rusk…" Koji got out.
He sunk into his chair as Gatack landed next to him. Rusk was older than him, even though Koji had a senior rank, Rusk being just a sergeant and Koji a staff sergeant. Nonetheless, Rusk never held it against Koji and respected the eight years younger man as his leader while he acted as a mentor to Koji, almost like an older brother or father–figure. And now... He was dead…
…
…
"…AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
"WAAAAAAAH!" Gatack freaked out. "Aibou, what's wrong?!"
Koji stood up, gritting his teeth to fight through the pain, as he fought back tears welling up in his eyes. "The Beast's… a Worm and… he killed… Sgt. Rusk…"
"Oh man… I'm sorry…" Gatack said sadly.
Koji didn't say anything. And then he heard the Beast over the radio say he was going after the rest of Tech Platoon. After a few moments of silence, Koji walked over to another table where his Rider Belt was sitting. He wrapped it around his waist and looked to Gatack and said, "Let's go. I'm ending this vendetta. Now. The Beast's gone too far now. He killed my second–in–command and now he's going after the rest of my platoon. I'm putting that animal down, once and for all."
"You sure?" Gatack asked.
"Positive. The Beast is going to pay for his sins."
Gatack was silent for a few moments before flying over to Koji. "And I'm gonna help you do it, aibou. We'll make sure the Beast faces justice… together." As he landed in Koji's hand, he said, "Just promise you'll be safe, Koji. I don't want anything to happen to you."
"I will." Koji said. "Now let's do this! Henshin!"
HENSHIN!
"KISAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I yelled, charging in at the Beast. While he tried to blast Tech Platoon, I slammed into him, knocking the Beast to the ground.
As I struggled to keep him down, Brenner called over radio, "Rika, Deadeye, get over here, now! We need to clear an exit for Tech Platoon! The Beast… He's killed Sergeant Rusk!"
["WHAT?!"] Rika shrieked horrified.
["THAT BASTARD!"] Deadeye yelled.
"Just get over here, now!" Brenner shouted as he rushed towards the Beast after he threw me off of him. "He… He's stronger than the other Worms!"
["Say no more! I'm on my way!"] Rika said.
The Beast dodged Brenner's punch before slamming his arm into the captain's back with a loud thud, knocking him to the ground. "You roaches are nothing compared to me! Now, if you'll excuse me! I've got more agony to cause Shinamori! I'll let my 'new friends' finish you two!" He then gave an insect–like click of his jaws, summoning forth eight Salis Worms.
"Aw man, not them again!" I complained.
"We gotta beat them aibou!" Kabuto pointed out.
TheBee then said, as the Salis Worms cut us off from Tech Platoon, "We better move quick! If we don't get past them, the Beast will kill Tech Platoon!"
"Yeah, we know that." Brenner said as he managed to get up.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…!" I growled.
"Look, as much as we want to mourn, now's not the time. We gotta deal with the Beast and the Salis Worms."
As the Beast approached Tech Platoon, the soldiers moved backwards into an inescapable position. The soldiers tried to look brave, but they were clearly worried. "HAHAHAHA! Oh, it's gonna be so much more fun when I squash your boss after I've caused him the agony of killing all his soldiers."
"Not if we having anything to say about it!"
RIDER SHOOTING/SLASH!
"Huh?" The Beast said looking towards Deadeye and Rika charging at him.
"HAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rika yelled as she charged in while Deadeye fired his shot at the Beast. The Beast barely managed to dodge the attack, getting partly struck by the two combined attacks.
"GRAAAAAGGGHHH!" Pushing himself to his feet, the human–turned–Worm turned toward the two newly arrived Kamen Riders and growled angrily. "Oh, fun… Looks like I get to kill all four of you, as well."
"MAKE THAT FIVE!"
HUH?!
Suddenly, my Rider Machine in Masked Form pulled up, with Kamen Rider Gatack on it.
"Koji!?" Rika shouted. "I told you to–!"
"Go and help Kurogasa and the captain, both of you," Koji said, his voice and cold… and well, downright terrifying as he kept his focus on the Beast. "Tech Platoon, go support the rest of our troops… He's mine."
"Are you crazy?!" Rika snapped.
"You're just asking for a death wish man!" Deadeye added.
"I! SAID! GO!"
Deadeye and Rika looked at Koji shocked, before the former said, "…Fine, but if you die on us–"
"I'm not gonna die." Koji retorted. He then pointed deliberately at the Beast. "…But he is."
"Then go get him."
Koji nodded. "Gladly."
Rika looked to Koji in silence for a few moments before saying, "Be safe."
"Don't worry, I'll groovy on back to ya when I beat him." Koji assured.
Under her helmet, Rika was blushing as she nodded and ran after Deadeye in the direction of Brenner and I to help with the Salis Worms as Tech Platoon went to the rest of the battalion, leaving Koji and the Beast to go one–on–one and finally end their rivalry. "Well, the roach finally shows up!" The Fire Ant Worm/Beast said smugly. "I've been waiting for this. I can finally get your head!"
Koji, standing there in his Masked Form, just clenched and unclenched his fists.
"What's the matter!? Too paralyzed with fear to say anything!?"
"…I'm going to end you," Koji finally said, causing the Fire Ant Worm to make a confused noise. "You killed someone close to me, someone I considered a mentor and a friend and a trusted colleague. I'm going to make you suffer for that."
"Hah! Nothing but empty threats!" The Fire Ant Worm snarled. "You think you can beat me?!"
Koji readied his shoulder cannons. "No, I don't… I know I can." Without another word, he began firing at the Beast/Fire Ant Worm. The latter retaliated in kind firing his sharpening quills and flames towards Koji. Seeing the blasts heading his way, Koji turned slightly and redirected his blasts to counter the attacks of the Beast before turning back to him, opening fire again.
"C'mon, c'mon! Is that all you got?!" The Beast demanded.
"You wish," Koji said with an icy growl as he then let out a loud war cry, running towards the Beast as he rapid fired his shoulder cannons. The Beast roared as he fired back, trying to counter Koji's attack as he stepped backwards to try and keep some distance between him and the approaching Kamen Rider.
'Now's my chance,' Koji thought as he started to slide back Gatack's pincers. "Cast Off!"
CAST OFF!
The armor suddenly crackled and steamed before it shot out towards the Beast, damaging him in the process while the stag pincers came up and attached to his helmet.
CHANGE: STAG BEETLE!
The Fire Ant Worm growled as he stumbled from the damage of Koji's ejected armor pieces and caught sight of his Rider Form. "Ergh… You think that's gone change things, getting a new armor set!? I'm still gonna kill you!"
"Go ahead and try!" Koji challenged.
1!
2!
3!
RIDER KICK!
Electricity gathered around my leg as I did my usual version of my Rider Kick, slamming my leg into one of the Salis Worms, causing it to explode in green fire.
"Aibou! Behind you!" Kabuto shouted.
I turned just in time to dive under an attack from a second Salis Worm who swung his arm at me, rolling out of the way of the strike. "Not cool man!" I said before I shot it with my KunaiGun in Gun Mode.
Deadeye then rolled out of the way of a two-pronged attack by two Worms before he shot at the back of the Worm I was shooting at. "You good?" He called out.
"Yeah, I guess…" I grumbled. "Still kinda out of it…"
"I got your back," Deadeye said as he ran over to me, him and I, standing back–to–back, guns ready as the four Salis Worms surrounded us.
I couldn't help but chuckle. "You're watching out for me, Stevens? Don't tell me you're going soft on me."
"In this situation, nah." Deadeye said. "These guys are easy to handle."
"True enough," I replied as he and I rushed forward, rapid firing.
Meanwhile, Rika and Brenner were busy battling the four other Salis Worms. Rika landed a horizontal slash on two of them next to each other while Brenner punched another before nailing it with the butt of a dropped rifle before using it to shoot at another one.
"I really hope Koji's okay." Rika said to herself.
Brenner looked over his shoulder to Rika as he used the rifle, now out of ammo, like a bat to knock one of the Salis Worms down as he said, "I'm sure he will be. The Beast won't know what hit him."
"Yeah but… how did the Beast turn into a Worm? What did he do to himself?"
Before he could answer, Brenner had to dodge an attack by another Salis Worm. Turning TheBee once again, he shouted, "RIDER STING!"
RIDER STING!
Slamming his fist into the Worm, it exploded as he turned towards another Worm. "That's what I want to know. Maybe…" However, his thoughts were pushed aside as he had to return to the fight.
"Maybe what?" Rika prompted.
Brenner replied quickly, "I'll tell you later! Right now, let's focus on these Worms!"
"R–Right!" Rika stuttered before going back to the fight.
1!
2!
3!
"RIDER KICK!"
RIDER KICK!
Yellow electricity crackled as Koji jumped up in the air and the electricity traveled to his right foot as he was about to deliver a roundhouse kick while in the air. The Beast gasped in fear briefly before angrily firing on Koji. The blasts didn't stop him, but they lessened his power enough that the attack didn't destroy the Worm, but definitely wounded him. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Fire Ant Worm yelled in pain. "You roach! You'll pay for that!"
Koji landed on the ground and glared at the Beast from behind his helmet. "That's where you're wrong. If anyone is paying for anything, it's you paying for what you did to Rusk and what you threatened to do to the rest of my platoon and my friends!" After he made that claim, surprising the Beast, Koji drew his swords and rushed at his long–time nemesis. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
"Tch… if that's how you wanna play, then fine! DIE YOU ROACH!" The Beast yelled, charging in at Koji too. The Beast fired nonstop at Koji, shooting fireball after fireball at him, but Koji, in his angry state, deflected every blast away from him with his two blades as he charged at the Fire Ant Worm, continuing to yell. That was when the Beast started to get scared and it was more obvious when Koji puts his blades in scissors mode.
RIDER CUTTING!
"Time to put you down like the wild animal you are! RIDER CUTTING!"
The Beast yelled in anger and terror as he watched Koji approach him, pain joining the other emotions as the scissor-sword started to clamp down around him. "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!" The Beast roared in pain as the scissors–sword got tighter and tighter. "STOP! STOP IT! Y–YOU CAN'T… YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" He shouted as he tried to push the blades apart.
"I CAN! I WILL! AND I JUST DID!" Koji yelled. "THIS IS FOR RUSK!"
Just like with the Cicada Worm, Koji then lifted the Beast above his head, yelling angrily as he did. "NOOOOO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" The Beast shouted. "P–PLEASE! PLEASE HAVE MERCY!"
"After what you did, you don't deserve forgiveness," Koji muttered darkly. "YOU DESERVE TO BE IN HELL! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
*SNAP! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Snapping the blades shut, the Beast exploded in a huge fireball. At long last, the vile mercenary was put out of his misery for good. His rivalry with Koji had ended with the Kamen Rider emerging the victor.
"It's over…" Koji sighed as Gatack detached from his belt and went back to civilian form. Koji dropped to the ground and panted, trying to catch his breath as the sounds of the battle began to die down. "The Beast is finally gone… that was for you, Rusk."
"You did it aibou!" Gatack cheered. "He's gone for good!"
Koji nodded as Gatack landed on his knee. "Yeah… finally…" Groaning in pain, some of his injuries having been stressed in the fight, Koji forced himself back to his feet and picked up Rusk's corpse. "But so is Rusk… I'm not gonna leave him here. He deserves a soldier's funeral."
"I hear you on that." Gatack agreed.
It seemed like the fighting went on for much longer than it did, but it had only been about 20 minutes more that the battle went on for. We had finally defeated the Worms and the rest of the battalion had defeated the Beast's men. But there was still one question: "What happened to Koji?"
"Man… that took forever…" I gritted, holding my shoulder in pain. During the last few moments with my battle with the Salis Worm, one of them tackled me down so hard, when I landed on the ground, it dislocated my right shoulder. Rika saw this and absentmindedly went to work resetting my arm. Clearly, she was thinking of Koji and wondering whether or not he was on his way back. "Rika... you okay? Ergh…" I winced.
"S–Sorry…" She replied quickly as she then focused more on resetting my shoulder. "I'm just worried about Koji… He hasn't come back yet."
"I know…" I got out. "But he's a fighter. I'm sure he'll come back."
Deadeye, who was sitting on a rock as a corpsman stitched up his arm, said with a shudder, "I'd be more worried about what he did to the Beast… I've never seen Shinamori that angry before. He was… terrifying."
"That bad huh?" I asked.
"That would be an understatement." Deadeye replied.
Just then, one of the soldiers said, "Sir, SSgt. Shinamori is on his way back! And it… It looks like he's carrying Sgt. Rusk, Sir."
"Really?!" Rika exclaimed, moving my arm so suddenly and-
*POP!*
"ITEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEITETETETETETETETETETETETE!" I yelled in pain comically while flailing. Sure she managed to pop my shoulder back into place but dang it hurts!
"Oh, you'll be fine, you big baby!" Rika shouted as she turned to go meet Koji. When he came into the base, man… Koji looked… he looked like a mess. "Koji!" Rika exclaimed.
"Heya…" Koji muttered. He then looked from her to two of the soldiers walking by and said, "Private, Corporal… Bring Sgt. Rusk's body to the infirmary. Ask Dr. Morris to prep the Sergeant's body for burial."
"Yes sir!" The soldiers saluted before they took Rusk's body to take to Dr. Morris.
Just then, Lin came in.
After saluting Brenner, she said, "The wounded have been moved to one of the two sickbays, Captain. Luckily, the civilians are mostly unharmed."
"And what about Isabella?" I grunted, still reeling from Rika's sudden move of popping back my shoulder.
Lin looked back and forth before sighing sadly, "Dr. Morris has been working round the clock on her, but... her condition has deteriorated badly. She was hurt in the skirmish, and the virus is continuing to develop."
"Will she make it?" Brenner asked.
She was hesitant to give an answer. Finally, she said, "It's touch and go. She's in Dr. Morris's hands now."
It's been several hours since the battle and there was still no word from Dr. Morris. During that wait. Sgt. Rusk was given a soldier's burial and 21–gun salute.
He had been buried right outside the shelter with a homemade headstone to mark his grave. Koji stood in his dress uniform as the head of the funeral ceremony, receiving the folded Rubinelle flag from the color guard and the bugler played "Taps." All the soldiers present saluted while the civilians who attended, like myself, Rika, Dr. Stauffenburg, and Dr. Morris, stood with our hands over our hearts in respect.
After the ceremony, everyone departed back to whatever they needed to do. As for me, I was sitting in the empty mess hall, sitting at one of the tables, thinking about a lot of things. Mainly about what happened to Rusk. Whenever I feel down, I would cook to get my mind off of things, but today… I was too upset to cook. I kept staring at the utensils and ingredients on the table and just sighed. I didn't know Rusk that well, but from what I had seen, there was nothing that told me he was anything other than a good man. Plus, knowing how close he was to Koji added to it. "Dang it… this sucks."
"Kurogasa?" A voice asked. I turned around to see Lin approaching me. "What are you doing here all by yourself?"
"Oh, hey, Lin," I said with sad smile before turning back to the stuff before me. "I was, uh… trying to prepare food. Cooking usually helps me relax, but… today I just can't focus."
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Lin asked as she sat next to me.
I was silent for a while before saying, "I just wished I could've done something to save Rusk…"
"It wasn't your fault," Lin quickly said. "You and Capt. Brenner did everything you could. Unfortunately… the truth is that sometimes, everything isn't enough. No matter how badly we try, sometimes soldiers just can't save everyone."
"But I'm not a soldier…" I pointed out.
"You have the heart of one," Lin said as she came beside me, placing her hand on top of mine. "You're a civilian, and yet you continually risk your life and fight with the rest of us to protect other people. That takes a lot of courage, Kurogasa."
I blushed as Lin's hand was on mine. "You… mean that?"
Lin nodded with a sincere smile. "I do. You're extremely brave, Mr. Kururugi. Never forget that."
I was silent for a bit before I smiled small saying, "Thank you Lin…"
"You're welcome," she said with a small smile. She then looked around quickly before kissing my cheek. "Just stay tough, alright?"
I blushed redder. "U–Uh… okay."
Koji was in his tent. He had taken off his uniform coat, shirt, and tie, leaving him in his pants, undershirt, and shoes. Sitting on his cot, he was absentmindedly strumming his guitar, unable to get focused enough on playing a full song.
"Koji… are you there?" Rika's voice asked. Koji didn't reply, not hearing her at first. "Koji…"
Finally, he recognized that she was there. "Oh, uh… Yeah, yeah… c'mon on in."
Rika came into the tent and approached him. "You okay?"
Koji wanted to keep playing his guitar, but it just wasn't in him at the time. Placing his guitar on the cot beside him, Koji shook his head. "I'm not… I'm really, really not, Rika… The Beast killed Rusk because he wanted to hurt me…"
Rika then sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know… Rusk didn't deserve that…"
Koji leaned his head on top of hers as he gave a deep sigh, trying to fight back tears. "No, he didn't… I avenged him, but… It won't bring him back… putting that animal down won't change things…"
Things were silent between the two before Rika said something, "Hey Koji."
"Yeah?" Koji said as he looked at her. "What is– MMPH?!" Much to his surprise, Rika had grabbed Koji by his undershirt and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Koji was stunned when Rika did that, but nonetheless tried to kiss Rika back. After what seemed like forever, they slowly pulled apart. "Rika… I never knew you felt the same," Koji replied in a stunned tone. In spite of all his previous emotions, he gave a soft chuckle as he said, "Probably because you didn't fall to my charms like the other girls back in high school."
"Baka… I fell for you the moment we met when we were kids." Rika mumbled.
Koji gave a joking grumble as he said, "So did I, but if you had made your interest a little more obvious, I wouldn't have needed to go out with all those other girls. I only did because I thought you only liked me as a friend."
"Well, I made it obvious now didn't I? It just only took a failed attempted Apocalypse to do the trick."
Koji smiled at Rika as he took her hand and kissed her again. "You ask me, it wasn't a moment too soon… I love you, Rika."
"I love you too Koji…" Rika replied before the two kissed again.
Back in the experimental medicine infirmary of the shelter, Will was busy pacing back and forth as he waited for news of Isabella's condition. "Come on, come on… What's taking so long?"
Dr. Morris came out from the lab and said, surprised to see the young cadet there, "Will? You're still here? It's been hours."
It wasn't before long that myself along with the other Riders and Lin arrived too along with Dr. Stauffenburg, the ZECTers, and Kagami. Worriedly, Will came close to Dr. Morris and said, quickly, "How is she, Doctor!? Is Isabella alright?"
"And please no drama… I want to actually sleep tonight…" I added.
Dr. Morris looked to all of us uncomfortably before sighing sadly and looking down at Will. "I'm… I'm sorry, Will. Try and calm down, all right? I don't know if I'm the right person to tell you this, but…"
Will's face paled at that. "Oh no… Please, Dr. Morris! It can't be! It can't!"
"Doc if you're saying that-" I threatened.
Dr. Morris looked extremely sad. "Listen, I… No, I don't have the words…" He then started giggling uncontrollably. "I think I'll leave it to Isabella to tell you how she's made a full recovery! Oh ho! Oh ho ho ho ho ho!"
All of us nearly collapsed at that. Koji hopped up first and shouted, "C'mon, Doc! Really!? You're gonna make a joke about that after today!?"
"Will!" Isabella cried out as she came out of the infirmary all healthy and hugged him.
"Isabella!" Will said happily.
"I'm going to be ok, Will. I owe it all to Dr. Morris's help and to everyone's kindness."
"That's great news!"
"It is, isn't it?"
"You're a real piece of work, Doc." Brenner sighed wearily after getting up. "Why didn't you just tell the boy she was better?"
"Come now, Captain! Where's the drama in that? Did you see the joy on Will's face? I felt like the director in one of those TV medical dramas. Oh ho ho!" Dr. Morris laughed.
"Unbelievable…"
*BONK!*
"OW!" Dr. Morris cried out after I bopped him on the head.
"I TOLD YOU NO DRAMA!" I yelled comically.
Rika facepalmed. Shaking her head, she said, "Moving on, my fellow doctor… I take it that Isabella is no longer contagious?"
Nodding his head, he replied, "Indeed. The virus incorporated the nucleoside analogues into its genomes, halting its life–"
"STOP!" Deadeye shouted. "Short version: she okay or not?"
"You are a most impatient man," Dr. Morris grumbled, "Yes, yes, she's fine. Although I must confess I had my doubts there for a while. She was on the verge of death, and then… something changed within her system. While I was recovering from my surprise… Voila! I can offer you no explanation for it."
"Why not just call it a miracle?" Brenner asked. "Sounds to me like Will's prayers were answered. That's all the explanation I need right there."
"I'm a man of science, Captain. Miracles are not something I deal in. However… Truth be told, I feel rather superfluous in that I truly did nothing to heal her. The one thing I can say for certain is that she's cured. So… Hip hip hurrah!"
Rika rolled her eyes. "Are you guys sure he and I are in the same profession?"
"I'm personally having a lot of trouble believing it," Koji said as he leaned against the wall.
Just then, over the PA system, one of the soldiers in the control room said, ["Captain Brenner, you and the command staff are requested in the control room. The mayor of Freehaven wants to speak with you."]
"Oh great… what does he want now?" I facepalmed. "It's never good with him."
"Let's just see what he wants." Kagami added.
"Yeah, but I won't hold my breath on this guy…" Dr. Stauffenburg sighed.
Up in the control room, the mayor turned as he heard all of us enter the control room. "Where've you been, Brenner? I've been waiting to hear your report for hours!"
Deadeye snorted as he said to Koji and I, "Gee, I must have missed that memo that said that the captain is answerable to the mayor in our chain of command."
"Yeah," We agreed.
"Calm down. Everything's fine. The girl made a full recovery." Brenner said.
"The girl? Who said anything about her? I want to know about the food!" The Mayor demanded. "Is the factory in working order? Will we be able to grow crops?"
"Yes. That's what I've been told." Brenner sighed rather irritably. "You'll be happy to learn you don't need to worry about food anymore."
"That… that is good news." The Mayor said, calming down a bit. "Now, we've got some additional business to attend to… As the civilian representative, there's something I need to discuss with you."
Brenner narrowed his eyes. "Go on."
"It's about this shelter. Do you think it can sustain this many people living here? We've assessed the situation and feel we need to cut our population roughly in half. There's–"
"You can't be serious." Brenner grimaced. "Do you realize how big this place is? There is more than enough room for all of us."
"Listen, Brenner. This is the collective opinion of the entire civilian population, understand? And having soldiers living here is problematic as well. Are we supposed to live in fear of being attacked?"
"Is there a point to all this?" I growled.
"You're soldiers." The Mayor said. "You have the weapons and training to survive anywhere. But we civilians are powerless. This shelter is our only chance for survival. We believe the solution is clear. Am I right, everyone? Shall we vote and decide like civilized men?"
Lin then walked up to him saying, "That's not a reasonable proposition. In terms of numbers, you civilians have an overwhelming majority. Additionally, a large number of our people are incapacitated by their wounds. Would you use that to your advantage? Is that the type of people we're dealing with?"
"How disrespectful!" The Mayor snapped, clearly offended. "I'm not trying to set up a dictatorship! This new world should be built on democracy. One person, one vote! That's what I say! Or would you rather threaten us with your guns and bully us into submission?"
Everyone was silent at that, until Lin suddenly took out and pointed a Desert Eagle at his head. "Ok, yeah. I'm comfortable with that."
As the mayor looked terrified, Koji then grabbed him by the collar and slammed him backwards onto the conference table. "Alright, I've had it with you, you fat tub of lard! We have done NOTHING but help you guys since we came into contact with you! We've protected you from mercenary raiders! We've defended you from Worm attacks! We're the reason you are here in this shelter! And how have you repaid us!? By SCREWING US OVER every opportunity possible! One of our best men, one of MY MEN, gave his life FOR YOU! A man far more noble than you sacrificed himself to protect your people! HOW DARE YOU DISHONOR HIS SACRIFICE?!"
"Whoa Koji, easy!" I snapped, holding him back. "You made your point!"
"I agree with the guy. They fought for us. They risked their lives for us." One civilian spoke all of a sudden.
"Some of them… died for us. We can't just throw them out of here." Another added.
"I want them to stay."
"I'll second that!"
The mayor looked to his people in disbelief as he stood up from the table after Koji let go of him. Brenner smirked smugly, crossing his arms. "You listening, Mayor?"
Lin joined him, re–holstering her Desert Eagle as she said, "It would appear we have a clear majority."
"B–B–But, how can you…? Wh–What are you thinking?!" The Mayor yelled, but all l he got were glares from us. "Fine! Do as you please! I don't care!" And with that he stormed off.
"Good riddance… for now…" I sighed.
"Thank you, everyone." Brenner said to the civilians. "You have my gratitude. As you know, my people and I have been on search and rescue 24–7 since the meteors struck. But most of the folks we've "saved" didn't last too long after the fact… To be honest, there've been times when I've questioned the value of what we're doing. But knowing that you understand makes it all worthwhile. Thank you."
Lin nodded approvingly. "Well said, Captain."
I shot him a thumbs–up and said, "I think we made a lot of positive changes for these people the last few days."
"Yes we have." Brenner nodded.
"I knew I was right in having our factions join." Kagami said. "I have a feeling we have a chance of surviving in this world after all."
I looked to both men and said, "Of course we have a chance of surviving in this world. So long as we stick together, there's nothing anyone can do to stop us!"
In the medical wing, Will and Isabella were by themselves talking, "So we're going to stay here for a while. There's plenty of food, and there's safety in numbers."
"We can stay here together? Me too?" Isabella asked and he nodded. Things were silent between the two before she broke the silence adding, "I… I had nothing. I didn't know where I was or what I should do. I didn't even know my own name. Yet you took me in and cared for me, and now you say I can live here with you. Are you sure? Is it truly all right?"
"Of course! And now that you've recovered from the virus, I'm sure you'll get your memory back." Will said.
"Perhaps… But I really don't need my memory back. I'm fine not knowing what happened before."
"Really? But–"
"You've given me all the memories I need." Isabella smiled before holding his hands with her own. "I'll never forget the kindness you've shown."
Will look down at his intertwined hands and Isabella's, feeling a warm blush come to his cheeks. "Isabella, listen. I want to, um…" He then paused as he saw someone approach from down the hall. "Lieutenant Lin? Are you Lin? Hello~ooooo?"
"Yes?" She asked suddenly appearing from out of the corner of the hallway.
"GYAA!" Will freaked out, letting go of Isabella's hands. "How did you do that?! And why are you eavesdropping on our conversation?!"
Lin gave a sly smirk. "Are you talking about something you don't want me to hear?"
Will replied in a quick, nervous manner, "Well, no, but… that's not the point! It was a private conversation, and–"
"Whatever," Lin replied rolling her eyes. "Captain Brenner sent me. We're to report to A Block immediately. If we're going to be living here, we need to set up rules and regulations." After that, she turned and started making her way back to the command center.
Sighing in frustration, Will said, "Fine. We'll be right there. C'mon, Isabella. It's time to go!"
Smiling widely, Isabella playfully saluted Will and said, "Yes, sir!" She then happily took his hand and walked with him towards A Block."
"Hehehehehehehehehe… yes… my latest creations are coming to fruition…"
The scientist was in his secret lab, watching as two of his engineers put the finishing touches on his latest creations. Using the information he had acquired from Gatack, and his various observations on Kabuto, TheBee, Drake, and Sasword, the scientist had finally succeeded in his ultimate plan: creating his own ZECTers. However, they looked somewhat different from the other five.
When the engineers were done, he took them into his hands and give them to two of his armored soldiers, "With these, I shall be able to get all kinds of results! It will be fascinating!"
The two armored soldiers then pressed a button on their belts and the buckles flipped down to be a platform of sorts before putting the ZECTers on them.
HENSHIN!
CHANGE: PUNCH/KICK HOPPER!
Fen: Oh snap…
SD: *bawling* POOR RUSK! WA–HA–HA! *grabs Fen's new shirt and blows nose again*
Fen: OI! This is a new shirt! *pushes SD away again* Man, enough with the bawling already! At least it's not one of the main characters!
SD: True… But yes, Sgt. Rusk has been murdered by the Beast, but at least in the end, Koji managed to avenge him, finally putting his fierce rivalry with the Beast to rest.
Fen: But it's not over yet. We got new enemies coming up and they're not friendly.
SD: That's right. Two all too familiar grasshopper themed Riders are gonna be joining the fray very soon, and sadly, they're not Ichigo and Nigo.
Fen: So stay tuned for next chapter!
SD: Ja nee!